Jackson, Irish escape

Sophomore just misses triple-double in survival at Rutgers.

Sophomore just misses triple-double in survival at Rutgers.

February 18, 2008|TOM NOIE Tribune Staff Writer

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Arms extended toward the arena ceiling and fists clenched, Notre Dame sophomore guard Tory Jackson wandered near halfcourt following Sunday's final buzzer. His emotional release that followed may have been more relief than celebration after the No. 20 Notre Dame men's basketball team escaped the RAC with a 71-68 Big East Conference victory over last-place Rutgers. "It was an early game; I love early games," said Jackson, who was awake by 7:30 a.m., and listening to music on the computer at the team hotel. "It was one of those days for me, to tell you the truth." Many of the Irish played as if they had slept through Sunday's wake-up call before the noon start, so Jackson took over. With sophomore power forward Luke Harangody slowed by an atypical off-day and the Irish offense again stagnant for stretches, Jackson scored a game- and season-high 17 points to flirt with the school's second-ever triple-double. He finished with a game-high 10 assists and had eight rebounds in 37 minutes. Irish coach Mike Brey refuses to buy the popular sentiment that there's no better guard in the Big East now than Connecticut's A.J. Price. "Basically, today, it was his will that said, 'I'm going to find away to get my team a win and then we'll figure out everybody else,'" Brey said. "He just played like a man. Whatever we needed, he did." Irish guard Kyle McAlarney, with many from his hometown of Staten Island, N.Y., in the stands, hit two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining to give the Irish some breathing room. With Rutgers out of timeouts, guard Anthony Farmer raced the ball downcourt and missed a difficult 3-pointer with two seconds left. "You've got to hit those free throws at the end," said McAlarney, a career 83.3 percent shooter at the foul line. "I wanted the ball in that situation." Able to dodge defeat following Wednesday's near-miss at No. 17 NOTRE DAME 71 RUTGERS 68 NOTRE DAME (71)min fg ft rb pf tp 36 Rob Kurz 4-11 2-2 14 1 11 19 Zach Hillesland 2-6 1-2 6 1 5 27 Luke Harangody 5-16 0-1 8 4 10 37 Tory Jackson 7-13 2-5 8 3 17 38 Kyle McAlarney 5-12 2-2 2 0 16 7 Jonathan Peoples 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 8 Luke Zeller 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 28 Ryan Ayers 3-4 0-0 4 2 7 TEAM 6 TOTALS 28-67 7-12 49 15 71 3-point fg-fga included in totals above: Kurz 1-4, Jackson 1-1, McAlarney 4-7, Peoples 0-1, Zeller 1-2, Ayers 1-2. TOTALS: 8-17 (47.1 percent). RUTGERS (68)min fg ft rb pf tp 34 J.R. Inman 6-15 0-0 6 3 14 10 Jaron Griffin 1-2 0-0 2 0 2 15 Hamady Ndiaye 1-7 0-0 2 2 2 36 Anthony Farmer 5-11 3-5 3 1 16 28 Mike Coburn 3-6 2-2 3 2 9 23 Corey Chandler 3-11 1-2 6 2 8 29 Earl Pettis 3-6 0-0 7 2 7 17 Byron Joynes 2-7 1-3 6 2 5 8 Justin Sofman 2-4 0-0 0 0 5 TEAM 3 TOTALS 26-69 7-12 38 14 68 3-point fg-fga included in totals above: Inman 2-5, Griffin 0-1, Farmer 3-6, Coburn 1-2, Chandler 1-6, Pettis 1-2, Sofman 1-3. TOTALS: 9-25 (36.0 percent). Halftime score: Notre Dame 42, Rutgers 34. Shooting: Notre Dame 28-67 (41.8 percent), Rutgers 26-69 (37.7 percent). Assists: Notre Dame 15 (Jackson 10), Rutgers 13 (Farmer 4). Turnovers: Notre Dame 12 (Jackson 4), Rutgers 9 (Pettis 3). Officials: Ed Corbett, Jamie Luckie, Pat Driscoll. Attendance: 7,431. Connecticut, Notre Dame improves to 19-5 overall, 9-3 in the Big East. The Irish are 3-3 on the road in league play following their closest road win of the season. Notre Dame's last three league games have been decided by three, six and three points. Losers of its last six and all but guaranteed of again skipping next month's conference tournament, Rutgers falls to 10-17, 2-12. The Scarlet Knights were led by Farmer's 16 points. "We played a hell of a game, which means we got better," said coach Fred Hill. "Our guys are growing up." Twenty-nine seconds remained when two Farmer free throws made it a one-point Irish lead. Notre Dame was able to drain 14 seconds off the clock before Rutgers fouled Ryan Ayers, its sixth infraction of the half. With one more to give before the Irish shot free throws, Rutgers fouled Harangody, who was sent to the line with 13.1 seconds remaining. Harangody's first offering on the one-and-bonus situation rolled around and out, yet the ball also bounced Notre Dame's way. Rutgers teammates Byron Joynes and Earl Pettis chased the miss near the Irish bench, but couldn't decide who one would secure it. The pair fumbled the ball out of bounds to set up McAlarney's final free throws. "We got a little lucky there at the end," McAlarney said. Senior captain Rob Kurz delivered a strong effort after two sub-par showings. Kurz scored 11 points, including a key basket to put the Irish up three with 42 seconds left, and had a game-high 14 rebounds. That helped offset a quiet game from Harangody. The team's leading scorer coming in, Harangody was hounded into a 5-for-16 shooting night for 10 points, his lowest output in league play this season. Jackson's free throw gave the Irish a seven-point lead with 15:48 left. Just over four minutes later, Notre Dame trailed by five following a Mike Coburn 3. "We haven't been in that position," Brey said. "We got better defensively at that time." Rutgers also went cold and missed some easy shots. Regardless, the Irish found different ways to respond. Their high-octane offense, stuck in neutral almost all afternoon, delivered 15 points in just over five minutes as the five-point deficit flipped to an eight-point lead. As was the case last week in New England, Notre Dame's offense then fell asleep. The Irish managed only two baskets -- a Jackson drive and Kurz's spot-up jumper - the final 2:44. That the win might be the ugliest of the year mattered little for the Irish, who wanted only to get out of town, get home and get prepared for Thursday's showdown against No. 22 Pittsburgh. "We just did barely enough to win the game," Kurz said. "We could have done a lot of things better, but in the end, we got a big win."Staff writer Tom Noie: tnoie@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6153